With Stastny out for Avs tonight, look for Gally at center

No Paul Stastny tonight. The stiff back/neck hadn’t quite loosened up enough this morning, so he’ll sit out tonight against the Carrie Underwood’s favorite team, the Senators.

Stastny skated briefly, but left the ice soon after. I can’t see him missing more than another game or two, at worst, but these are the Avs, so you never look on the bright side about anything with injuries.

TJ Galiardi will play, though, and look for him to play center – his natural position in junior and his first bunch of games with the Avs – in place of Stastny.

Milan Hejduk won’t play with the sore groin, which was a disappointment because he’d skated well the other day in Chicago apparently. Day-to-day.

Probably because as a 21 year old rookie he had 39 points in 70 games, good for 6th in rookie scoring last year, the same level of production as older players like Andrew Ladd (this year a PPG player), Antti Meittenen, Brendan Morrow and other players who are considered a little more than ‘tweeners’ who might have a hard time making the grade with other teams. Galiardi, at worst, was one of the top 150 forwards in the NHL last year – making him an average #5 forward… which is, for the record, a top sixer.

I don’t understand the thinking that if a guy doesn’t put up 70+ he’s a fringe player. Galiardi had a better season last year than 430 other forwards. Gain some perspective.

Probably because as a 21 year old rookie he had 39 points in 70 games, good for 6th in rookie scoring last year, the same level of production as older players like Andrew Ladd (this year a PPG player), Antti Meittenen, Brendan Morrow and other players who are considered a little more than ‘tweeners’ who might have a hard time making the grade with other teams. Galiardi, at worst, was one of the top 150 forwards in the NHL last year – making him an average #5 forward… which is, for the record, a top sixer.

I don’t understand the thinking that if a guy doesn’t put up 70+ he’s a fringe player. Galiardi had a better season last year than 430 other forwards. Gain some perspective.

Probably because as a 21 year old rookie he had 39 points in 70 games, good for 6th in rookie scoring last year, the same level of production as older players like Andrew Ladd (this year a PPG player), Antti Meittenen, Brendan Morrow and other players who are considered a little more than ‘tweeners’ who might have a hard time making the grade with other teams. Galiardi, at worst, was one of the top 150 forwards in the NHL last year – making him an average #5 forward… which is, for the record, a top sixer.

I don’t understand the thinking that if a guy doesn’t put up 70+ he’s a fringe player. Galiardi had a better season last year than 430 other forwards. Gain some perspective.

Exactly. I remember about a month into the season when everyone was down on the avs about g.a.g. I cannot remember 100% but I believe I said “I don’t care if the other team scores 50 goals against us a game as long as we score 51”. Pretty much sums up the 1st 1/3 of the season.

If the Avs are expecting the offense to bail them out and score 6-7 goals a game, every game, then you’re looking at a team that will lose about 50 games in a season. The rate that the Avs are scoring lately suggests that the will not just fall back to earth soon enough, but are likely to train wreck back to earth once the pucks stop finding the back of the net. No way they can keep this pace. No team can. It should not be expected. At some point, they have to start playing defense. They won’t play against crap goaltending forever.

Exactly. I remember about a month into the season when everyone was down on the avs about g.a.g. I cannot remember 100% but I believe I said “I don’t care if the other team scores 50 goals against us a game as long as we score 51”. Pretty much sums up the 1st 1/3 of the season.

Exactly. I remember about a month into the season when everyone was down on the avs about g.a.g. I cannot remember 100% but I believe I said “I don’t care if the other team scores 50 goals against us a game as long as we score 51”. Pretty much sums up the 1st 1/3 of the season.

If the Avs are expecting the offense to bail them out and score 6-7 goals a game, every game, then you’re looking at a team that will lose about 50 games in a season. The rate that the Avs are scoring lately suggests that the will not just fall back to earth soon enough, but are likely to train wreck back to earth once the pucks stop finding the back of the net. No way they can keep this pace. No team can. It should not be expected. At some point, they have to start playing defense. They won’t play against crap goaltending forever.

If the Avs are expecting the offense to bail them out and score 6-7 goals a game, every game, then you’re looking at a team that will lose about 50 games in a season. The rate that the Avs are scoring lately suggests that the will not just fall back to earth soon enough, but are likely to train wreck back to earth once the pucks stop finding the back of the net. No way they can keep this pace. No team can. It should not be expected. At some point, they have to start playing defense. They won’t play against crap goaltending forever.

The Avs are the same as last year’s Capitals. Score a ton, but have zero defensive discipline and no goaltending whatsoever. The Avs are little more than the Western Conference Caps. And they’ll flame out just as fast when it really matters. Anderson, for as lucky and sometimes good as he was last year, absolutely sucks balls this year. I don’t see how the Avalanche can realistically offer him another contract past this season.

The Avs are the same as last year’s Capitals. Score a ton, but have zero defensive discipline and no goaltending whatsoever. The Avs are little more than the Western Conference Caps. And they’ll flame out just as fast when it really matters. Anderson, for as lucky and sometimes good as he was last year, absolutely sucks balls this year. I don’t see how the Avalanche can realistically offer him another contract past this season.

The Avs are the same as last year’s Capitals. Score a ton, but have zero defensive discipline and no goaltending whatsoever. The Avs are little more than the Western Conference Caps. And they’ll flame out just as fast when it really matters. Anderson, for as lucky and sometimes good as he was last year, absolutely sucks balls this year. I don’t see how the Avalanche can realistically offer him another contract past this season.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.

Chambers covers college and professional hockey for The Denver Post. He has written for the Post since 1994, after dumping his first 9-to-5 office job a couple years out of college. He primarily follows the University of Denver hockey team and helps cover the Avalanche.